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Dora and the Lost City of Gold (August 2nd)

Kristen Bell is on the cover of the latest People. Online article with interview videos: Dax Shepard’s Sobriety Is Everything to Kristen Bell: It 'Allows Me to Have Him in My Life' (People) .

Next year is the end of the road for the Winchester Brothers: Supernatural to end with Season 15 (THR).

William Daniels was at the Emerald City Comic Con ( EW), along with other stars of the show. A couple photos, via Instagram:

For those with an Amazon Prime subscription, this is currently free on Prime Video as a single 104 minute video, "Stargate Origins: Catherine." It wasn't great, but it was worth watching. Though, I wasn't a fan of the planet being "Abydos All Along" nor the mind-control instructions at the end (which undercut the plot and motivations of the original film). Spirited Catherine didn't bother me too much. If this had been developed into a full series, I think Catherine would have become the original "Black Widow" of the Gateverse.

If the "team" was a joint law enforcement task force based in the United States, the CIA officer could theoretically be given a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal badge, which would give them law enforcement officer privileges, but that ain't this show. And, honestly, I'm not sure what this show is yet, since we didn't really see the "team" working as a proper team. But, the show seems to be about an espionage-y team that works outside the United States. That scenario is classic CIA territory and not at all FBI territory, especially as the FBI has no true law enforcement jurisdiction outside the United States. The FBI does work on investigations outside the States and liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies, primarily through legal attachés who are based in embassies (FBI.gov summary). Yet, this show makes it look like the FBI has a mini field office in the Paris embassy. So, the whole FBI vs CIA thing doesn't really work for me. If they wanted to do antagonistic agencies where overlapping jurisdictions actually make sense, a joint team with the CIA and some other foreign intelligence service, say the U.K.'s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or "MI6" in Hollywood jargon) would work much better, drama-wise. (And, on the business end of things, could perhaps open up the option of a joint production to spread out the financing and risk.) Also, an option for antagonistic inter-federal agencies would have been to make one of the leads work for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which is under the Department of Defense. Like the CIA, they have a Clandestine section. * * * I guess the show is just going to overlook the fact that the NSA Guy kinda paid off a Russian mercenary to kill someone (the helicopter pilot). They didn't give Ana Ortiz too much to do except confirm the identity of a CIA operative over an apparently unsecured phone line. And, how did she even have access to the file? Speaking of bad OPSEC, the characters' codenames are based on their initials (Foley mentioned this in an interview). Also, discussing your latest op in the public lobby of an Embassy is not a good idea.

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (March 15, 2019) Also features Linda Lavin. Ellen DeGeneres is one of the executive producers.

IMDb (owned by Amazon) has just launched a free -- with commercials -- film and TV streaming service, called "Freedive" (Mashable article).

Official YouTube link for full episode preview (embedded below, may be removed from YouTube after January 16th): For a pilot, that was one of the better ones I've seen in a while. The episode flowed fairly well without becoming a boring paint-by-numbers guided tour of exposition, unlike the other unusual private school new series this year. (I'm looking at you, Legacies.) And, there was some real tension about what would happen to the lead in regard to how/where he would fit into his new situation. And, I may have let out an audible groan during the "Yesterday" shot, but that was one of the few in media res openings that actually worked. Since, it wasn't an opening action sequence, I wasn't impatiently waiting for the episode to get back to that specific point in time. Plus, the opening classroom scene worked very well establishing the assassin school and the mood of the series. I'm still in wait-and-see mode as to how the main characters break out of their types. And, the same for the apparent love triangle being girly-girl María and emotionless Yakuza biker girl Saya. Random: Hello, Miss Deputy Lupoca! Hi Ryan Robbins! Bye Ryan Robbins! Henry Rollins does intense so well.

Men in Black International - Trailer #1 Men in Black International - International Trailer #1 Some background details, via ScreenRant: Now, this looks good. Love Tessa Thompson's character. And, Chris Hemsworth -- I'm getting a fun young Roger Moore vibe (is a The Saint film reboot in Hemsworth's future?).

"Hold Me" Trailer

Shamier Anderson (Dolls) will have a "key role" in the third season of Amazon Studios' Goliath (stars Billy Bob Thornton). Source: Deadline article on the season three renewal of Goliath. He also has roles in the upcoming Destroyer (starring Nicole Kidman, December 25th release date) and the indefinitely impounded Johnny Depp vehicle, City of Lies, which is about the murders of rappers Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, where Anderson plays bad cop David Mack.

Todd Stashwick (Deacon) has a major role in the live-action Kim Possible DCOM as Kim's arch-nemesis Dr. Drakken. Here's the one-minute trailer: Edit: The movie will premiere on Friday, February 15, 2019 @ 8pm Eastern.

Here's the article on the planned Hannukah-related movies for the 2019 season... Via Forbes: Hallmark, Famous For Christmas Movies, Plans Two Hanukkah Features

The CW is looking to resurrect Good Christian Bitches with a new testament (via TVLine). Here's the log line summary: The earlier adaptation -- title shortened to "GCB" -- aired on ABC in 2011 and was more faithful to Kim Gatlin's novel, which was set in a Dallas suburb.

A classic example: The mechanical Donald Ducks in 1939's Bachelor Mother: "You've disgraced the Toy Department."

New Trailer! Per the trailer and the latest film posters (below), the official release date is Friday, February 8, 2019. And, more film posters (click on the images to view the full posters): Edit: Official images of over a dozen new tie-in sets are now online, via Brickset. (potential spoilers)

Just watch. (John Lewis is an upscale department store chain in the UK) This 'ad' would work perfectly as a trailer for a Elton John biopic.

I saw this on Tuesday and didn't realize that it was a brand new thing for Fox & Friends. F&F have a new indoor-but-outdoor set that is sponsored by "Bob Evans Farms" (BEF),* which features a kitchen area with the BEF logo and a display of some BEF products. (Diamond & Silk were even among the honored guests!) I was a bit surprised to see the "Bob Evans Farms" sponsorship, given all the recent public pressure on FoxNews advertisers, though that's been mostly focused on the primetime personalities' shows (Hannity, Tucker, Ingraham). BEF not only sells sausage and other foods (ready to heat mashed potatoes is a big, big seller) under the "Bob Evans" brand, but also provides sausage for various supermarkets' private labels, such as Giant Eagle and Meijer, as revealed by a recent food recall, who could put a lot more pressure on BEF than a public advertising boycott campaign by private individuals. Especially, Giant Eagle, given last weekend's tragic massacre: The company was founded in Pittsburgh by Jewish families and is still headquartered in that city. *"Bob Evans Farms" recently spun off its restaurant division, "Bob Evans Restaurants" (BER) back in 2017. Both corporations are owned by private equity firms. (Wikipedia) Tangent: Could that kitchen area be any more generic? I mean it's so white. And, it's not particularly farm-ish. Where's the giant cast iron sink (ideally with a drainboard section)? Also, the classic position for a kitchen sink is in front of a window. And, having that fake window in the corner makes no good sense. (The above still is from a NewscastStudio blog post about the set and F&F episode.)

Some very nauseating CNN! Election! Night! In! America! promo spots got me looking into how MSNBC was promoting their election night coverage this year. They're using the phrase "The Vote (for) America's Future" to brand not only that coverage, but also apparently general day-to-day pre-election coverage as well. Here's a 15 second spot: "And, whatever happens, we'll be here to make sense of it." This is good! A calm female voice. Folksy yet serious. A reassuring message. (And, the total opposite of CNN's rushed and macho "Wrestlemania" 15 second spot.) Here's a 30 second spot with different anchors (and Mika) stating key issues: "Immigration. The Economy. Gun Control. The Environment. Education. Our Democracy." But, bait-and-switch! It's promoting Morning Joe. (Uh, where's "Healthcare"?) And, a 30-second spot for MSNBC's "Road Warriors" that's about actual reporting! The only real negative I can say about these "The Vote" spots is that they made one promoting Kornacki and his board. (Warning: All these videos have 10 second bumpers at the beginning for the industry blog that uploaded the videos.)

These "Election Night in America" promos are so disgusting. They're shamelessly all about the horse race, plus the fast/macho voiceover makes them feel more like a promotion for some sporting event or action movie and not one of our most serious public processes. Here's a 15 second spot: Sorry, CNN. You're not the "only place to watch." And, a 30 second spot: Numbers! There's also another spot that profiles the CNN personalities who will be on air that night. (Blitzer! Donner! Cupid!) (Edit: Which I haven't found online yet.) (In comparison, MSNBC's "The Vote" spots are much more serious and focused on the issues, reporting, and analysis.)

Uh, maybe Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise, Nashville) would have been a better choice? From Variety: The Variety article and other write-ups state that Al Zamel was a "mother of two," but that appears to be an error (conflating the children she rescued as her own or something). From the A.V. Club write-up: For some background, Marie Claire has a long excerpt from the book (so spoilers). The UNHCR website also has a short excerpt (so spoilers).

Entertainment Weekly has a long oral history article on the making of Baby One More Time.

The Good Cop | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

Production on the third season starts "next" (this?) week. Via Deadline: